In my U.S. Pat. 3,953,138 issued Apr. 27, 1976 there is shown and described a one-way twist lock structure for telescoping tubes particularly useful, in a preferred application, as a tiller extension stick or hiking stick for sailboat rudders. As shown in this patent, the hiking stick is designed to have one end coupled to the end of a rudder tiller, this coupling permitting rotation of the stick about both horizontal and vertical axes; that is, a universal joint coupling. The other end of the stick terminates in a holding handle and the telescoping locking feature permits an adjustment of the overall length of the stick to provide maximum comfort in using the stick in manipulating the rudder tiller.
While the foregoing structure works well, a problem arises when used on a sailboat rudder tiller in that the hiking stick tends to "flop around" or get in the way when not in use; for example, when the sailboat is simply at anchor. To avoid this problem, a user may simply uncouple the one end of the hiking stick from the tiller itself and then store the stick. When the user decides to go sailing again, he can then reassemble the end of the stick onto the tiller.
The foregoing operations are time-consuming and annoying to a user. It would be far more convenient if the hiking stick could be effectively "stored" without having to disassemble the universal connection joint to the tiller.